Discover Taiwan, The Beautiful Island

“Beware the person with a Buddha’s mouth and a snake’s heart.” -Chinese proverb

It was with stealth that the 228 Massacre struck Taiwan, ushering in decades of sorrow. The three numbers together, 2-2-8, now hold horrific memories for many Taiwanese. The importance of this date and the ensuing dark time period can be found in my article, “228 In Today’s World.” What is so significant about the massacre and the White Terror era is its destruction of the minds of a beautiful country.

There’s a handwritten poem in my home, its first line roughly translating to “Taiwan is the best!” As the anniversary of 2/28/47 looms near, here is my homage to lovely Taiwan, which can be noted for its wonderful:

Food Taiwan, due to its unique history of various cultures, offers an interesting array of dishes. For example, there is dan tat (egg tart) but with a Portuguese flair or xiao long bao (soup dumplings) but with thinner skin. Other foods are strictly native dishes, like the oyster omelette (a gooey egg mixture with small oysters) or ba wan (disc-shaped “meat sphere” with special rice flour/yam starch/corn starch wrapper).

Land Taiwan offers a vast array of scenery. There are mountains to scale, oceans to wade in, and tiny islands to explore. I love the interplay of urban bustle with quiet, remote spots (e.g. Hualien). It’s so hard to do justice to the land, so here is a picture collage for you to make your own observations:

People There are the native peoples of Taiwan, aboriginal tribes with interesting festivals and music. Thankfully, some of their culture is officially preserved in special areas of the island. Then there are the Taiwanese leaders, who’ve created a strong economy in the land. Innovative Taiwanese minds have thought up such amazing inventions as the Razor scooter, BeRobot (the smallest humanoid robot according to Guinness World Records), and biodegradable lunch boxes.